Flocktastic adventures
by jabbakaba
Summary: Max & the flock have a new enemy who'll go to many different heights to capture them! Taken after MR3. Max also battles her feelings for Fang which seem to be increasing by the day! It's up to Max to keep her flock safe and face their troubles head on.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N~ Hi guys** **This is my 1** **st** **fanfic…like ever. Constructive criticism is happily accepted! I'm totally new so I have no idea what the heck a beta is but I shall make it a point to learn all about**

 **Disclaimer: I only wish I was James Patterson. (To make awesomest series in the world!)**

 **Aaanndd let's begin:**

CHAPTER 1

So there I was, sitting, no, involuntarily squeezed, with my family. However, I'd consider my 14 year old self a mom. Why? Because I'm the oldest, duh! Not only that, I'm the leader of a 6, 8, 11 and the two most immature other 14 year olds on this planet.

"Don't worry."

Those two words whispered from Fang's lips made my heart beat a little faster. Of course I haven't told him anything or shown my feelings toward him, at least I hope not. Ughhhh, I hate puberty and hormones and all those other things which make teens go crazy! I mean, here we were, probably being led to our deaths and I was thinking about his super sexy, deep, husky AHHH! You get what I mean.

"As soon as they open the doors we'll kick butt."

I sighed, we were all too hazy from the chloroform.

Why is he acting all weird anyway? Usually he'd say something like, "It's your fault anyway Maxie, everything is."

I guess this situation is worse than I thought.

We were sitting at the back a small, cramped truck and I was smushed in the middle of Fang and Nudge. He patted my knee and turned away.

"Max? Do we have a plan?" Angel's small voice spoke out into the dim space and my heart melted.

"Of course sweetie, we always have a plan." Think Max, think! Eraser's always come after us but they've have never been smart enough to knock us out with chloroform. Actually, I don't even know if it's those grotesque flying creatures. We never saw them before we were conked out. How did these people find us anyway? We had found the perfect home which kept us safe for 8 months or so.

"Ok guys, the only thing we can do is to hit anything and everything that opens the door. Got it?"

I got various responses from "yeah" to a small noise made from none other than the gasman.

"Aaahhh! Do you ever NOT have something to say from your butt?" screamed Nudge.

"Nope! Your fault for sitting right next to me. In fact, your fault for squishing me so much. Everything's your fault Nudge."

"Oh yeah? Whose fault is it for burning up the couch back home huh? And whose fault is it for… ummm Iggs, what are you doing?"

Iggy's hand was moving around Nudge's face. It found her mouth and covered it.

"Nobody cares right now, Nudge. You can scold Gazzy all you want when we bust outta here, if we ever do. And if so, I'm going all out with Fang, Max and you can't stop me. It's been forever since he's explained anything beautiful to me, if you know what I mean." Iggy smiled smugly.

Phew, at least he's still the same.

"Ew. I'm not all that old you know... and please do not make Fang go 'all out'" Angel said. Iggy blushed a little. We all sniggered. Well, all except Fang who smirked. Wow, I really love his crooked smile. It's really badass, in fact, everything about Fang is pretty badass. Wait…STOP MAX! Hmmm… where are we going? I really hope we're not being taken to Itex and even though they're destroyed, we'll never stop being suspicious.

We felt the truck come to a stop and got ready, well, as ready as we could get by being squished. Iggy groaned as he tried to turn. A foot smacked my face as I turned towards the door.

"Ouch! I'm gonna be bruised before we even get out of here!" I said, while rubbing my nose.

"Oops, sorry Max!" Gazzy said. There was more shuffling and a few hits here and there until we all were facing the door and ready to hit the first thing that opened it.

There was a rustling and the sound of a bolt being unlocked flew to my ears. I was crouched and all set.

But I misjudged the biggest thing.

 **A/N~ ooohh! What is the big part Max misses? FAX coming soon!**

 **Hey you! Yeah you. R &R? This being my first story, it would make a difference ^_^**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N~ So, I've decided to pick up the pace a little. Aaaaand, I'm lazy hence why I'm not gonna write the disclaimer every single chapter, re-read CH 1 disclaimer over and over if you have to :P**

 **Let's continue!**

CHAPTER 2

Light.

It pierced my eyes as soon as the left door opened. My eyes started filling up with tears and I quickly brushed them away and tried hard to get used to the brightness. Why was it bright anyway? It was night when we were thrown in here and I'm pretty sure we'd been in the truck for like, 3 hours. 5 at the most.

My eyes got adjusted and I sprang out with the others. My fist came in contact with a nose and I heard a satisfying crunch.

The body flew back and skidded to a stop. I was just about to shout U&A when looking I saw the ceiling. We were in a warehouse. A warehouse with a lot of dust. A warehouse which smelled like rotten fish. A warehouse filled with 40-50 weird guys wearing bandanas and such. That seems easy enough, I guess. However, each guy had some type of weapon.

 _Crap_.

I did a quick 360 and felt a surge of pride at my flock, who were in a fighting stance.

"Okay, who are you? What do you want… yada yada yada. You know the drill." I said in a bored voice.

Silence. That's new. Nobody said anything but a man in a kabuki mask, the leader I suppose, flicked his hand and 6 guys came running at us. Huh. Wrong move, losers.

I saw Angel concentrating hard on the man coming at her. He swiveled around and punched the one going after Iggy. I smirked. Good one hun!

Suddenly, I was pushed to the ground. A super ugly man with a huge mouth and an ugly nose ring between his nostrils straddled me, pinning me down and punched my face. Ouch. I realized my legs were still free. I drove my knee up to his back. The impact brought him onto me. I pushed him aside and punched his jaw back and forth until he was bleeding. Good, that'll keep him down.

I got up and was immediately kicked in the stomach. My breath flew right out of me. The man took no chance hit me again in the face. I regained my posture and delivered a mean roundhouse kick which brought him down. I felt two men grab me from behind. They firmly held my wrists and stepped on my feet. Oww! I realized I wasn't wearing my shoes, none of us were.

I looked up and saw Fang wrestling a man with nun chucks. Right then, the man on my right took out a dagger and held it to my neck.

"Stop or she dies."

Everyone immediately turned towards me. Awww man, why'd they have to be armed? How unfair. I felt a pinch and the feeling of blood trickle down my neck. Shucks, he wasn't kidding about killing me.

I eyed my flock. They were nervously looking at me. Well, Iggy was looking at the general vicinity of the area where I was.

The leader with the kabuki mask (what? that's the only way to differentiate between him and the others!) came up and finally started speaking.

"Children, we mean you no harm."

Hah, yeah right.

"But hearing that you all are a feisty bunch forced us to take precautions."

Like nun chucks and brass knuckles? Hardly necessary, actually, that's a good precaution for awesome people like us.

"We do not want to kill but in fact, we've gotten a good deal from a man who asked us to capture you for 5 million dollars."

Ouch. My ego has been tarnished, only 5 million? I'd consider myself priceless.

"It's quite surprising as to how easy it was to capture you."

Yep, surprising to me too.

"But our work is over. If you'll cooperate, we'll escort you to your owner without further damage."

Ew, how formal is this guy?

"Agreed?"

His henchmen started unlocking huge wooden doors and let in a rush of fresh air. Thank goodness.

I looked towards my kids. This couldn't be the way we go down!

 **Max. Angel.**

Yes, voice. Angel. What, have you just noticed her? No reply. Wait… Angel angel angel ANGEL! I quickly thought towards Angel. _Sweets! Just persuade this guy to let us go!_

She nodded at me. Well then, since it's an easy ticket out of here, let's have some fun.

"Ummm, how about a no 'kabuki face'? I mean, no offence, you look cool and all but seriously? What a cheap knockoff from the Japanese. At least we're original with wings. And if you think we're gonna _cooperate and be_ _escorted to our owner_ , you're dead wrong buddy."

I'm pretty sure he was making a super PO face but who knows?

He jerked towards me but stopped. The 20 or so men left stared at him with a confused look.

"Wait. Actually, we don't need the money right guys?"

Hah! It's working!

"These beautiful children have done us no harm. We must be civil and follow our country's law. We must not be driven by the source of all evil!"

The men, by now, looked freaking amazing! Their faces were bewildered beyond all means.

"Shall we escort them outside?"

"Thanks but no thanks." I said.

Immediately I elbowed both the men behind me in the guts and ran. The rest of the flock sprinted after me out into the open.

"What the hell?! Go get them you twits! I have no idea what they did to my mind but we need to get them before they get away!" Kabuki face yelled. The men came running after us.

We sprung out our wings and jumped. The men were yelling and finally getting their guns out to shoot but we were too high.

"Let's go guys."

 **A/N~ Ahhh, a nice escape for Max and her flock. However, I've always wondered why Angel never used her powers to change the mind of an evil character.**

 **Thoughts?**

 **R &R **


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N~ Heyoo! Less than a week until the new Maximum Ride book comes out! Who's excited? I know I am :D :D :D**

CHAPTER 3

"Well, that was easy." I wondered aloud. I mean, we all had a few scratches and bruises but that's not abnormal. Fang looked toward me and smirked. And that's all I needed to forget to flap. I fell a few feet but quickly regained myself. Wow, I've reached a whole new level of lame-ness.

We decided to take shelter under a few trees. You know, the usual. The kids immediately fell asleep. Me, being the leader, decided to take first watch. I sat on a branch which faced the moon. Of course, my mind wandered to Fang. Why was I so awkward? When he kissed me in the cave, I ran. Why? Ughhh… this, kids, is my sad life. But speak of the devil… a figure quietly sat down next to me. My heart immediately started beating faster.

"Hey." I murmured lamely.

"Ssup. Nice going with Mr. Kabuki face."

"What the heck was he all about? Honestly, he looked super cool with the mask but who knew he was so…formal?"

Fang shrugged. The typical.

"Would I look cool with a kabuki mask?" He asked out of the blue.

"There's no need for one." I said without thinking. Crap! I hope he doesn't know what I meant.

He eyed me closely. Seriously, he suddenly seemed so so close. My heart was fluttering away.

"I don't get you Maximum." His voice suddenly got husky, or was that my imagination? I gulped.

"I don't get me too. Weird right?" I answered.

I noticed that our sides were touching. Ohhh nooo. Why is he so hot? Why are his eyes so mysterious? Why am I suddenly paralyzed? Why can't he just kiss me already?

He held my chin, lifted my head and looked carefully at me. I suddenly felt so conscious, I probably look like a hag. We were barely inches away from each other.

I closed my eyes.

"What are you thinking about?" He asked suddenly.

I opened my eyes and blinked rapidly.

He dropped his hand and drew back while looking perfectly calm. I, on the other hand, was all flustered and had no idea what to say.

"I, umm… about, you know, the guy."

"The guy?" He asked. He looked as if nothing romantic ever happened. Huh. Maybe he didn't like me after all. My heart sunk.

"Yeah, uhh, who was the guy who wanted to be 'our owner'?"

"Exactly. I've been thinking too. Should I ask around on my blog?"

What? That's what he'd been thinking when I was wanting to kiss him?!

"Yep. That would be a great idea. We'll go to an internet café sometime soon k? We also need to somehow find out who this man is and why he wants us. Oh! We also really need to change our clothes and get shoes." I said glancing at our torn and bloody pajamas.

He nodded.

"G'night." He said and walked to his own branch, leaving me as confused and dejected as ever.

 **A/N~ Okay, okay. I know this chapter is the shortest ever but I promise the next chapter will be wayyy longer. This is my first time ever writing anything remotely romantic so I know it sucks but hopefully I'll get better :P**

 **R &R? **


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N~ Huh. I just realized this isn't that long. Oh well, I don't really like describing itty gritty details so I'll leave that to your guys' imaginations! I just got my 1** **st** **review last chapter and literally squealed during bio class!**

 **Awesomeness.**

 **Let's get a crack on with the story (My history teacher ALWAYS says that :P)**

CHAPTER 4

We had no food, water, shoes or money. Well, Iggy had found a couple dollars in his sweatpants but hardly anything to get food with. There was no point in going back to the house. I'm pretty sure Mr. Kabuki would've gone back there waiting for our return. Hah, stupid.

Darn, a perfectly good safe-house ruined. Well, if you consider a house with a few cots, one bathroom and 6 backpacks with clothes perfect, then you're just like us! At least we had some kind of shelter.

Oh well, no need to dwell on the past. Right now, we need to find food and clothes.

We flew towards a small restaurant which was just opening. Nooo, not to the front door but to the back where there was a huge rubbish bin.

Scrounging around, we found 4 half eaten burgers and 2 salads which were somewhat soggy but hey, we take what we can get!

After the delicious meal, we found a thrift store.

"Hi there! We're looking for the cheapest clothes you have."

The woman who looked bored out of her mind at only 10 in the morning gave me a skeptical look.

"Oh these?" I said gesturing to our tattered pajamas. "We had a camping trip last night and it kind of got out of hand." I tried to look as pleasant as possible.

Thankfully, she agreed.

Walking towards the back, I heard Iggy say something about how I need to come up with better excuses. There was a little laughter. I immediately stopped, turned around and shot Iggy the death glare.

Crap, he can't see. Oh well.

"Iggs, I will punch you. It will hurt. Your mouth will be so swollen you won't even be able to ask Fang what the pretty girls at the beach look like." I shot at him. Silence.

I smirked as we continued walking.

Fang slinked next to me. I gave him a side glance. He looked perfect. As always.

"Chill Max. They're just having a little fun."

I realized that maybe I was a little too tense. I really don't want to split the group up.

"Here ya go." The woman shoved a box of clothes towards us. I found a loose, yellow t-shirt with a pair of mom jeans. Wow, how perfect (Note the sarcasm).

After changing, I went up to the counter and put down the $2.50.

"Thanks! Sorry if this isn't enough."

We immediately ran out before the woman could stop us. I mean, who knows if the clothes were more expensive?

Fang wasn't wearing black but had managed to find a pair of dark grey shorts and navy blue V-neck top. Wow, how does he manage to get the best fitting clothes?

After running for a while, we took to the air.

"Max, where are we going to go now?" Angel asked.

Voice? Any thoughts? Of course, the voice being having the worst timing ever, decided not to answer.

"How about we head to a beach? We still have to wash up." I had no plan. Shocking, I know. Sadly, almost half of my decisions were made by the voice telling me where to go. But now, it being the sucky thing it is, decided to not give me any hint as to what we were supposed to do. How could we ever find the man who hired those men to kidnap us? He's still unknown.

"Yess!" Nudge excitedly exclaimed. "I overheard someone talking about the weather and how it was the best time for the beach. I mean, I can understand why… it's not too cold or burning hot. At least, I think not. It's hard to tell when we're flying with the cool air against us. Whatever. Oh hey! Did you hear about that guy who ate a whole hot dog in one bite? I'm pretty sure it's fake but do you think Gazzy or Iggy or even Fang could do it? We should totally try it out to see whether…"

At that point I zoned her out but Angel seemed highly interested in a man who apparently had a gigantic mouth. Gazzy and Iggy were talking about some new bomb they could make using toothpaste and a few other things which I don't even want to know about.

I was trying to talk to the voice when I felt Fang's wings brush against mine. Focus Max, focus. Is the voice trying to tell me something by not telling me anything? Arghhh, I felt so annoyed because I couldn't figure out what to do.

"Max, take it easy." Fang said

I guess my frustration was visible on my face.

"Any ideas?" I asked hopefully.

"You're the boss." He smirked.

Screw his smirks and his minimal use of words! I shot him a glare.

"For now, let's take our time. Enjoy the moments we have before Mr. Unknown comes to get us again."

That seemed like a useless plan but I had nothing better.

I smiled. Maybe we should just kick back and relax. We've not even had a full year to chill.

 **Not yet, Max. There's more to be done. ITEX isn't the only company which tried to take over the world.**

Oh hello there voice! Good to hear from you, jerk.

So, what do you expect me to do now then? I have no idea who this man was or what he wants with us. Wait a second… this guy wants to take over the world huh? That means he must be rich or equipped enough to have such big ambitions. Okay, this gets us somewhere. But I really have no idea where to start!

 **Begin with what's ahead of you.**

"Max… what's that?" Gazzy immediately asked.

I looked up.

 **A/N~ Uhh ohhhh... Cliffhangers are fun!**

 **R &R? R&R. "Maybe this could be our always." (Everyone should know this reference :D) **


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N~ Salaam alaykum readers! In honor of me completing my work on time, I decided to write a little chapter. Hope you enjoy :)**

CHAPTER 5

There was easily up to 200-250 flyboys flying at high speeds right toward us.

Let's do this.

"Iggy and Angel, 12 o' clock! Fang, take 3! Gazzy and Nudge, you guys got 6 and 9 o' clock! If they're too strong, I want all of us to split up and lose them! We'll meet at the nearest beach."

My mind was on hyper drive. Weren't the flyboys retired? This could only mean that ITEX was back. Hmmm, I'll Fang about this later.

The first batch came on to us like there was no tomorrow. There was kicks, punches, groans, claps and screams. Everything seemed to pass in blur since I was fighting like a crazy monkey on steroids. The bots kept on coming wave after wave. I don't think we'll be able to fight them off.

 _Angel! Tell everyone to stop fighting and start losing these guys. There's too many._

I only hope she heard me.

Thankfully, from my peripheral vision, I saw Nudge do a roundhouse kick and shoot straight up. The flyboys flew after her but she was zigzagging around which was too complicated for the bots to follow. She flew off with an army after her. As one punch was thrown at me, I did a backflip, kicked the underjaw of one of them. Using it as a surface, I pushed off and dove straight down. Hopefully, the others will think of ways to fly off.

I saw a forest of trees and immediately swooped into them. The flyboys did the same but the branches were too tangled for their huge bodies to fit through. A whole lot did make it through. I realized that most of the bots had come after me. I zoomed through the forest. I saw a shadow to my left and realized it was Fang. He was using the same method I was! I looked up and sure enough, Fang was dodging branches here and there. He saw me, gave me a crooked smile and dove to the left. A bunch of flyboys after him didn't get enough momentum and were smacked onto tree trunks and branches. Hah, suckers.

I looked behind me and saw quite a few behind me still. Okay, time to utilize my hyper speed. I launched straight up into the open sky. I looked down and saw the group slowing down to tackle me at once.

As if.

I smiled.

"See ya later babes." I saluted them and shot ahead.

I flew for a few seconds before slowing down. The flyboys were way behind me. Like little specks of dirt.

I looked down and realized I flew too far. I was hovering on top of the ocean with no land in sight. I flew back and saw 5 people sitting on the beach. I smiled. My flock had done it once again.

I swooped down. Iggy was inspecting Nudge's knee which was swelling by the second. Angel was whispering to Gazzy about something.

I looked over towards Fang and noticed that he was bleeding on the face. I walked up to him

"Hey, you don't look good." I said, feeling a pang of sadness rush over me.

"Really? I thought I looked good all the time." My pity was replaced with relief and being annoyed with his egoistic attitude.

I scoffed.

"But seriously, Iggy is obviously preoccupied. Let's go find something to cover that up. Hey guys, we're going to go get Fang repaired okay?" I told the others.

We started walking towards the forest. I noticed his blue shirt was ripped to shreds. I could see his toned muscles… woah. Urggghh, stop Max! This is not the time or the place. In fact, there should never be a time or place!

"You don't look great too." Fang murmured

I never realized that I was also pretty banged up. I suddenly felt the sting of a few cuts on my face.

"Huh." Truthfully, I was more concerned about Fang than me. We walked in silence for 20 more minutes until we found a clearing with a small pond which looked heavenly.

There were a few large leaves which would act as good bandages.

"Okay, remove your shirt." I said. I tried to act casual about it but I was burning up inside, partly because of how bad his wounds would be and partly because him being shirtless is delightful.

Fang cocked his eyebrow but obeyed.

Oh crap. (No, not because of his upper body!) His whole stomach was blood red and basically looked like a disaster. He groaned.

I made him lean up against a tree and started ripping the bottom of my shirt which didn't seem yellow at all.

"Woah Max, I didn't know we were moving this fast." He smirked.

"Wow. Your perverted mind just doesn't know when to stop, does it?" I gave an exasperated sigh. Inside, I was happy he wasn't too serious about his wounds.

I moved towards the pond and dunked the cloth in it. The water was cool and refreshing. I slowly patted his stomach. He didn't show much pain but winced a little.

"There. All better!" I smiled.

He looked up.

Ohhhhh shucks, hormones have started kicking in, and not the innocent kind.

 **A/N~ Aiiyaiyai… Max needs to get her hormones in order man. Just kidding, at least she talks to her crush. Unlike me :( :(**

 **So, feel the pity and with that I bid you adieu.**

 **R &R? R&R. **


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N~ Namaste readers! I finished reading MR9 and Oh. My. Gosh. Bestest ending everrr :D :D If you haven't read it, READ IT! Awesomeness. Also, I'm leaving Jordan in 2 days and have a layover for 12 hours so I'm pretty sure I can write a few more chapters!**

CHAPTER 6

"I..um..have to…uhh, go." And with those stupid words, I ran.

I didn't bother looking back. I knew I spoiled the last chance I'd ever get with Fang. All because I didn't have the guts to face "us".

Tears welled up in my eyes and started to roll down my cheeks, I didn't bother wiping them away because I knew that I'd made the worst decision to which there'd be no more opportunities.

I flew to the top of a tall tree and sat.

 **Not a good move, Max…**

Gee thanks Voice, that makes me feel a whole lot better. I started crying even more. Why? Why am crying over a stupid BOY?! Is this what's become of the legendary Maximum Ride, the one who saved the world from utter destruction? I have sunk down to whole new levels of low.

I sat atop the tree till the sun melted into the horizon.

When I reached the flock, they had built a fire and were sleeping around it. But the only one awake was Fang. Great. And it didn't help by him still being shirtless.

He saw me coming and handed a piece of roasted rabbit to me.

"Thanks…" I muttered, awkwardly.

I would've gotten some meat for the flock if it wasn't for my hormones! Blame it all on them okay?

I sat down on the opposite side of the fire from Fang.

"Do you have a plan?" He asked while setting up his makeshift "bed". Why was he so calm? Why couldn't I be that emotionless?

"Yes! In fact, it's one that involves chocolate chip cookies, hopefully." I exclaimed.

At that, he looked at me. There was no expression on his face, as usual, but I saw the excitement in his eyes.

"We're going to Mrs. Martinez's house!"

"You can now call her your mum, you know."

"Yeah but it still feels kind of weird…"

He nodded and continued putting more leaves on his pile. It suddenly felt tense again.

"Uhhh, so how's your stomach?" I asked. My eyes involuntarily moved to his torso. His cut torso. His not-too-muscular-but-not-too-skinny torso. His jaw dropping, hot torso. Wait… I really hope I'm not being obvious!

But evidently I wasn't too subtle too because when I looked back up at his face, he was raising one eyebrow and smirking.

Crap!

"It's okay, I guess. The cuts are not too deep like that time when I was seriously injured that we had to go to the hospital." He said.

I gagged on the last piece of the meat and started coughing hysterically.

That was the first time I had kissed Fang and the whole flock had seen me!

Ohhhh, the humiliation.

"Oh, that's good news." I nodded.

"Max. Stop beating around the bush. We need to talk, and you know it." He looked at me straight in the eye. His gaze was so penetrating that I couldn't move.

"Max? You're back. Did Fang show you the pond where we all cleaned up? Where were you?" Gazzy sleepily asked.

Phew, saved just in time. I glanced at Fang, he was giving me a sour look.

"Huh? Oh yeah, I had just gone surveying the area to see if there would be any more surprise attacks." I answered lamely.

"Oh, okay. Maybe you…" Gazzy nodded back off to sleep.

"You should get some rest, Fang. I'll go wash off at the pond. Be back in 5 minutes." I stood up and hurriedly walked towards the forest.

The pond was shimmering in the moonlight. There was no sound except the humming of insects. I quickly stripped down to my underwear and waded in. I tried to scrub off as much blood, dirt and grime from my body.

I heard a rustle. Looking back, there was nothing. Huh, maybe just the wind.

In record time, I jogged back to the campsite. Everyone was sleeping soundly. I sat in my spot and watched the fire burn down into ashes.

 **A/N~ Okayyy, howzat? At least this is going somewhere. Gimme your thoughts on it and on MR9!**

 **R &R? R&R.**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N~ Hallo my lovely readers! So sorry for not updating sooner but I've been travelling and moving and other excuses which are actually legit ;)**

 **Anyhoos, so it turned out that I didn't write anything in the 12 hour layover because my crappy lappy doesn't work without a charger and being in a Middle Eastern airport, it didn't have the same plugpoint as my charger! (Well, maybe it did somewhere but I was lazy…)**

 **Buuuut I'll be updating way more frequently now because I'm on summer vacation (woohoo!) and I'm jobless and lonely.**

 **Okay, enough ranting and let's get crack'a'lackin! (I know, I know. I'm a failure)**

CHAPTER 7

The first morning rays of the sun turned the sky into a pale orange, pink color. The clouds were thin strips in symmetrical lines.

All in all, it was beautiful.

But there's no time to admire scenic beauty when you're running away from an unknown evil man/woman who wants to take over the world!

"All right, everyone up, up, up!" I shouted.

"One more minute… I haven't slept enough." Nudge sleepily murmured.

"Ummm hello? I am the one who stayed up all night deciding to take all of your guys' turns for watch!" I exclaimed.

Honestly, I wasn't in the least bit tired last night so I didn't mind staying up, but nobody needs to know that. I need it to sound like a sacrifice I made for the wellbeing of my flock.

"By the time I get back, I want all of you packed and ready to leave." I said while turning towards the forest to get breakfast.

By the time I got back, beaming with two quails in my hands, the flock was up and had restarted the fire.

"Great, you all are ready! Plus, I found a nice protein filled breakfast too." I exclaimed.

We roasted the meat and ate like civil, polite humans.

Hah. Yeah right.

Being a part avian does have its perks but when we lose our energy faster than usual, any meal at any time is a feast.

I glanced over at Fang, he was serene but I could literally feel the tension buzzing in the air from last night.

If only I wasn't such a chicken…

Who would've thought that I, the great Maximum Ride, the one meant to save the world, am afraid of love?

Seriously, I'm just so full of surprises, eh?

Anyways, we packed up and flew off without leaving any trace of 6 bird kids even sleeping there.

You know, I can say without a doubt that flying is the best feeling in the world, other than eating.

Nothing beats the feel of wind rushing through your hair, filling your bones with energy and chilling your body to the core.

It's exhilarating really. And no matter how many times you do it, it can never get boring.

We watched the sun move from our left to the right.

Just as it was setting, we found our safe haven without which I'd probably not have lived.

We made sure that there was nobody close by and swooped down and glided onto the ground. Well, I still fumbled a bit but guess who literally looked like an angel. Nope, not Angel (ha-ha) but Fang.

Show off.

I went up to the front door and knocked. It suddenly occurred to me that we probably look like a bunch of kids who were beat up, dragged around a dumpster and thrown into a sewer and rolled around in a sand pit.

Well, I probably exaggerated a teensy weensy little bit. But hey! You can't really clean up too well in a little pond.

The door opened to reveal Ella and Total.

"Max!You're back!" Ella rushed towards me and tackled me into a huge bear hug.

"Oh, ew. You're all dirty." She immediately released me and started brushing herself off.

"Gee thanks Ells, I never would've guessed…" I said back dryly.

She glared at me but quickly changed her expression and went to go say hi to the others.

"First things first people, showers!" I shouted excitedly.

"Shotgun!" Angel screamed.

"Angel, there's no shotgun calling for who gets to go in the shower first. Besides, there's 2 bathrooms anyway." Gazzy told her.

"Whatever, I bags the super cool one upstairs!" She ran up.

I flopped on the couch and decided to be the better man and wait for everyone else. Also, I was super hungry.

I sauntered up to the kitchen counter and started looking through the cupboards.

On one of the top shelves, there was a bag of chips just waiting to be eaten. I reached up but it was too high. I stood on my tiptoes but to no avail. My fingers were literally an inch away from the pack.

"Almost…just a little more…"

Suddenly, an olive toned arm came into my vision, reached up, and got the bag.

I looked to my right and gave Fang a glare.

Sadly, he wasn't looking at me but I could interpret that smirk from anywhere. I sat on the counter, waiting for him to put it in a bowl and pass it when he walked away.

Yeah, that's right.

He just left.

HE LEFT!

No one, I repeat, no one EVER leaves without me getting my way. Keep in mind that this was the one bag of chips in the house. I know, how does anyone live like that right?

"Fang, get back here right now." I snarled.

"Awww, little Maxy can't handle being a little hungry eh?" He said in a mocking tone.

That was it.

Hungry Max equals short tempered max.

Short tempered Max equals crazy Max.

Crazy Max equals Fang dying in a very sorrowful manner.

I leapt off the stool and ran towards him. He saw me coming and took off. We were literally running around the couch in circles until he found the door ajar and ran outside.

By now, it was twilight and I could just see his silhouette. I saw him shoot out his wings and take to the air.

My gaze followed his shadow up into the air which made him look so dang hot. I mean, you couldn't really see his face but his lean but muscular structure could make anyone swoon.

Hold up.

I'm mad at him.

"Fang! Come back here, I want my chips!" I shouted.

"Come and get it." He replied, without even looking back.

WITHOUT EVEN LOOKING AT ME!

Ohhhhhh, now I'm really mad. Seriously, you know those bulls in those Spanish fighting pits? Yeah, I'm the bull. And guess what? Fang's that little man in the suit who's gonna get his butt kicked which will earn me the beautiful red bag of chips!

I jumped into the air and flapped hard, fast, and strong.

 **A/N~ R &R? R&R.**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N~ Heyyoo my beloved reader/s :P I think I liked writing this chapter the most because, you'll see ;)**

 **Enjoyyy!**

CHAPTER 8

Fang was well ahead of me but using my super-cool-and-awesome-mad-flying-skills, I caught up easily. I was a few feet above him and our wings were slightly touching. Of course I didn't notice that too much, even though every stroke sent an electric buzz through me.

"Fang…" I warned.

He turned his whole body around so that he was facing me and flying backwards. And what was worse, I had tried to do that one time and had failed miserably.

"Hmm?" He replied.

"You should know that I'm not appreciating this."

"You should know that I am."

"You should know that I'm hungry and dirty and mad and tired and annoyed."

"You should know that you just said dirty."

"Argh! I didn't mean it that way!" I glared at his stupidly handsome face.

"Sure you didn't." He smirked. And just like that I totally forgot why I was mad at him. See? This is how freaking hormonal I am! His eyes held a steady gaze on me and I noticed a small smile playing on his lips.

I heard a rumble in the background but paid no attention to it since Fang was basically all I looked at, apparently.

Suddenly, he folded his wings and started falling like a rock.

I stared wide eyed but decided that Fang knew what he was doing so I followed suit.

At the last possible moment, he shot out his wings, which caught a random, helpful draft of air, and landed like an angel.

I, on the other hand, stumbled and tripped, which made me fall.

I just managed to hang onto a branch.

Fang strolled over with his hand in the bag, took out a chip and popped it into his mouth.

Oh yeah, chips was the reason for my anger and why I was hanging here in the first place.

"A little help please?" I reluctantly asked.

He sat down cross legged next to my hands and smiled.

"Ummm" I gave him a confused look. Was this guy TRYING to enrage me?

"You want a chip?" He innocently asked.

"Do I want a chip? DO I WANT A CHIP?! What the hell Fang? Here I am, literally hanging off a tree. And because of you! All I wanted was to eat a little something and you just had to be there to annoy me, yet again. Why do you have to be so annoying? In fact, I don't even know why I put up with you. I mean, you're all dark and mysterious one time then the next you open up to the immature part of you and then there are other times when you're just so badass, then others when you just close up so I don't know what the heck is going on in your head and other times you're so cute…"

Crap.

Well, that escalated quickly.

And to top off the cherry on the cake, I basically confessed to Fang that I find him cute.

Kill me now.

Fang had stopped chewing by now and was staring at me.

I looked down at the ground which was alarmingly far below me.

There was no way I'd be able to face his mockery.

I felt two strong hands on each of my forearms which heaved me up.

I huffed and mumbled a thanks but I think it sounded more like a "thnff."

My arms started aching and I realized that I was hanging for a long time. I massaged both of them, searching for ways to give an excuse to run away.

"Max, can you look up at least?" He murmured.

No.

No, I would not face the inevitable humiliation right away. I shook my head so, very lightly that I bet no one would've noticed… except Fang.

I felt his hands come up to my cheeks and lift my head to face him. I immediately diverted my eyes and tried to look at anything but him.

"Did you call me cute?" He asked.

"Uhhh what?! Hah, you wish… I said you're so COOT because, you know, uhhh Coot's are black birds which remind me of you, right, and you wear black, like, all the time, duhh." I stupidly responded.

I rethought what I had just said and did a mental face-palm.

This could not get any worse.

But, the universe being the universe, decided to be a jerk and it started raining.

I guess thunder was that rumble earlier.

Our hair was soaked in seconds and I noticed Fang's t-shirt was stuck to his body. Woah.

I suddenly realized what I was doing and quickly averted my eyes from his torso to his mouth.

No, not the mouth.

Eyes? No, he's too intimidating right now.

Arms… Nuh uh, they look tense. And muscular.

Ears! Nope, they're covered by his curtain of black hair.

Urghhh, the sky's no good too because I'd probably go blind with the rain.

Fine. Nose, it is.

I stared at his nose, hoping that he'd think I was chill but I'm pretty sure my cheeks were giving me away. Traitors.

"Yeah, duh." His voice said huskily.

 **A/N~ Are the characters too OOC? I've always loved the FAX moments in the books (Who doesn't right?) so I wanted to see what I could muster up :) Oh yeah, this is a somewhat cliffhanger cuz who knows what'll happen. (seriously, I don't too. I make this up as I go along :P)**

 **Anyhoos, R &R? R&R. **


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N~ Hallo everyone! So sorry for the late post but I've been on a trip to the mountains where there is no internet. Yeah, I know. The horrors. Anyway, I've decided to pick up the pace now since I can feel the laziness kicking in…**

CHAPTER 9

"Do you have a 6?"

"Nope, go fish!"

Angel eyed Nudge and watched her pick up a card from the deck.

The group was sitting around the living room table and playing a game of "Go fish". Iggy was still in the shower.

Angel moved her thoughts onto Gazzy and asked, "Do you have an 8 Gazz?"

"ANGEL! You can't just look into people's mind and take cards which you know they have… That's full on cheating."

Nudge's eyed widened as the realization hit her.

"I'm done." She said whilst throwing her cards onto the table.

"Come on guys, it's just a game!" Angel cried out.

"We would play if you'd stop nosing around in our thoughts…" Ella murmured.

"Humph, fine. But I can't help it, just so you guys know." Angel sulkily responded.

"Guys! Dinner's ready, where's Max and Fang?" Mrs. Martinez called from the kitchen.

"Probably off smooching in the woods." Iggy replied walking into the kitchen with a towel rubbing his damp hair.

The others sniggered and sat down around the kitchen counter.

Ella glanced at Iggy and wished he could see her. Maybe then they would talk more.

"Hey, it's started raining! This is great, I love rain. Hey, did you guys know that the driest continent is Antarctica? I mean, it makes sense because it's always snowing or whatever but isn't that cool to think about? One day I want to go to Antarctica because it sounds amazing! Just white, snow, white, snow, white and basically just a winter wonderland… Like, you could make a slushy with the ground! Maybe even one –"

"Uh yeah, sure Nudge. Like we'd ever go to Antarctica." Gazzy interrupted.

"How about we just live in the moment and eat?" Mrs. Martinez replied while setting down a big roast chicken and mashed potatoes.

"Yeah! Who cares about Antarctica when we got chicken?" Angel happily exclaimed.

Everyone was served and started gobbling down their share of the meal.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.

"Are you expecting anyone, Mrs. Martinez?" The Gasman asked.

"Nope, it's kind of late too. Wonder who it is." She replied.

"I'll get it." Iggy said. "I'm waiting for my seconds anyway."

Iggy got up and walked over to the front door with hardly any missteps.

The rest of the gang continued talking and stuffing their mouths.

Suddenly, there was a big clang and a thump.

"Iggy?" Ella called out.

No answer.

She got up to see who was at the door. As she turned into the hallway, you could tell that something was not right.

"Guys! Come here quickly!" Ella yelled.

The rest of the flock was up in a second and ran out to the porch. It was raining cats and dogs by now.

There was a little note fluttering next to the welcome mat.

"Iggy!" Gazzy cried out.

From the distance, they could make out a small body flying away. It was hard to see because the rain was falling in sheets but they knew that whatever it was, Iggy was kidnapped by it.

Nudge picked up the note.

Your little blind friend does not have very long left but if you want to save him, deliver Maximum Ride to Millennium Building, New York City.

You have 7 days.

"Oh no." She whispered. Angel took the note from her hand and gasped.

Where was Max when you needed her?

"We have to go get him!" Gazzy exclaimed, unfurling his wings.

"No Gaz! You're wings won't be able to fly in the rain, they'll break." Nudge replied, tearing up.

"What was that?" Mrs. Martinez looked up to the sky.

"Whatever it was, we know they are waterproof and have Iggy." Ella's voice shook.

 **A/N~ Whatcha think? I know this is uber short but I've realized that I get straight to the point of things, even in essays. Hence why I cannot drag on plot points for too long.**

 **R &R? R&R. **


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N~ Hola mi amigo's! Soooo, someone already found a loophole in my story line. Hehehe ;) Blame it on the late night, last minute writing okay? Oh, this is the 10** **th** **chapter so time to refresh the disclaimer!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I really wish I was talented enough to write 9 books about 6 bird kids. Alas, I'm not. Only James Patterson is ^_^**

 **Keep on reviewing to keep me encouraged!**

 **And enjoyyy :)**

CHAPTER 10

"Everyone, inside. Now." Mrs. Martinez ordered.

The kids dejectedly walked into the 2 storey house. They shuffled towards the living room which produced no sound except for the pouring rain.

Nudge was crying, along with Ella.

Angel looked around. Everyone's thoughts were swimming around in her brain which was causing mild nausea. She inhaled deeply.

"Guys, there must be something we can do." She sighed.

"No Angel. There's nothing we can do! The note specifically said that we need to drop Max off and you know that's not gonna happen because we all stick together and never leave a flock member behind. Plus, we don't even have a plan because Max is the one who keeps a clear head in these situations and she's not even here! She's gone off with Fang over some stupid thing and they won't be here anytime soon because it's raining so hard and nobody can fly. I don't know what you plan on doing because we're at a lost cause!" Gazzy exclaimed. He didn't mean for it to be so harsh but his best friend had just gotten kidnapped and they truly didn't have any idea of what to do.

Angel's eyes started brimming with tears. She swallowed and kept busy by trying to clear her head.

"There's no point in fighting now." Mrs. Martinez looked out the window, the rain was pouring in sheets now, crashing at the glass. "You can't blame Max and Fang right now because they surely would've come back by now if it wasn't for the rain." _I hope they're okay..._ She thought to herself.

The room fell silent with everyone contemplating on what to do.

"Well, I don't know if this is a good idea or not but since Max or Fang aren't here, maybe we should go ahead to the Millennium building in New York without them, after the rain of course. They'd catch up soon enough. We could find out what's going on and why they want only Max. We could also try and come up with a plan to get Iggy out." Nudge piped up.

The others knew this was a plan with lots of holes and many things could go wrong but, unfortunately, it was the best they got. There were nods of approval. Gazzy started getting up to pack.

"Maybe going now isn't a great idea. You shouldn't break up the flock, something majorly wrong could happen." Mrs. Martinez calmly spoke.

"No offence Mrs. M, but the longer we wait here, the more heinous things they could do to Iggy. He's already suffered the most in the flock, losing his eyesight. And after hearing the things which the school did to Angel, we're even more determined to get him out of there faster. It might not be the school again but whatever or whoever this person is, we can't just sit here not knowing what they could be doing to Iggy." Gazzy replied.

"You have 7 days though." Ella spoke out.

At that, Nudge and Angel turned around.

"How many days we have isn't part of the equation. We have to get Iggy out as soon as possible. I mean, he could lose one finger per day! And if we wait 7, just because they gave us that time, he could've lost seven fingers..." Nudge snapped back. The tension in the room increased with every word.

Ella fell silent.

Mrs. Martinez sighed and walked to the kitchen and started preparing food for the journey.

The rain had started to slow down to a heavy drizzle

It was a silent clear up. There wasn't much to say too. Angel had been kidnapped by erasers a long time ago which had shaken the whole flock. It can't be happening again and the school had been destroyed. At least they hoped.

Ella watched the kids fill up their packs. She had secretly hoped that they would have left early because she felt like she was in danger when they were here. even though ITEX was put to the ground. And now, her suspicions had been confirmed. The flock would never be safe; they're too special for that. Although, she missed Iggy. Oh well, you can't expect everything.

Gazzy was out on the porch first and was itching to lift off. The rest followed suit.

"Mrs. M, when Max and Fang come back, tell them everything okay?" Nudge asked.

"Of course honey." She faintly smiled. She kissed everyone on the head and wished them well.

"And guys? Please bring Iggy back." Ella asked.

Angel looked back and nodded solemnly.

They started running off into the small cluster of trees.

"Let's go get back our blind buddy." Nudge smiled. They spread their wings and took off.

 **A/N~ Okay, this is a total fill in chapter. We're getting to the good stuff! I also have an idea of what I wanna do so don't give up on me yet reader/s!**

 **R &R? R&R. (purrttyyy pleeeeeaasse? *bats eyes innocently* )**


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